Preamble: Good evening, everybody. Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell are the men tasked with taking England to a total that might give their bowlers a chance of skittling Pakistan tomorrow, and they'll resume after tea on 154-4, having lost Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood in successive overs. For those of you who have asked, my friend Laura performs her public display of insanity in less than a fortnight, and I've managed to wheedle her into wearing an England shirt while she does so, seeing as it falls in the middle of the second Test.

43rd over: England 156-4 (Strauss 75, Bell 5) A quiet beginning to the session, with both batsmen notching one run against Afridi.

44th over: England 158-4 (Strauss 76, Bell 6) Sssh. Another single each off Kaneria. Ian Botham is talking up the drama that will ensue tomorrow. The crowd at Lord's look like they've fallen into some form of sunstroke-induced coma, on which subject Jonathan Watson consoles me: "Carrie, believe me, you're better off inside - I was at Lord's yesterday and got horribly sunburnt. Won't be going anywhere today. Note to self: remember suncream next time." Ah, summer, and the great British tradition of going to cricket, drinking beer, falling asleep and then wondering why your skin is peeling off.

45th over: England 158-4 (Strauss 76, Bell 6) A maiden for Afridi. The spinners are doing a great job of containing England here.

46th over: England 160-4 (Strauss 77, Bell 7) Bell plays off his pads for a single, then Strauss hoicks into the covers for one more. Andy Bradshaw curses his own stupidity: "I've just realised that I'm on holiday for the second Test - do they have the internet in Bulgaria, do you know? Or Sky Sports? Or at a push longwave. And do you think the girlfriend will mind me disappearing off for four days on our first holiday abroad for ages to watch the cricket? Schoolboy error on my part." I believe that the internet and Sky and radio all function in Bulgaria, though I have no great knowledge of the country's media facilities.

47th over: England 163-4 (Strauss 79, Bell 8) The spinners are steaming through these overs; both are bowling economically but no sign of a breakthrough yet. Two singles for Strauss, one for Bell.

48th over: England 164-4 (Strauss 80, Bell 8) Kaneria's trying to force Strauss wide, but he's wise to it and defends, grabbing himself a single by playing through the gaps in the field.

49th over: England 172-4 (Strauss 85, Bell 11) This is more useful for England. Strauss pushes a short Afridi delivery off to midwicket for two, and follows up with another brace away to the same region, and then a single. Bell gets himself two off his pads, and ends with a single. Afridi can screech as much as he likes, that's eight runs off the over.

50th over: England 175-4 (Strauss 85, Bell 14) Three runs for Bell off Kaneria, first working him away for two then a single away to deep point. And I'm very excited because Owen Wilson has e-mailed me! "I was at that Twenty20 match at the Oval with all the Middlesex songsters (see afternoon session for details). Probably giving the lad more air time than he deserves, but diamond earring and 'trendy' mullet make Jade Dernbach a truly cut-price Cristiano Ronaldo."

51st over: England 177-4 (Strauss 85, Bell 16) The last ball of an otherwise tidy Afridi over sees Bell playing away to long-on for another two runs. Bilal Halim e-mails in with an abundance of exclamation marks: "You must tell Andy Bradshaw about the Bulgarian Cricket and Kickboxing Club! It's in Bulgaria! And they play cricket! And kickbox!"

52nd over: England 179-4 (Strauss 86, Bell 17) A single each. Everyone's looking very comfortable here, but not much is really happening.

53rd over: England 180-4 (Strauss 86, Bell 18) One more run for Bell, cracking away to mid-on, but that's neither here nor there, because England aren't scoring quickly enough to give themselves any semblance of a chance of winning this.

54th over: England 180-4 (Strauss 86, Bell 18) Maiden from Kaneria. Mat Hague offers local advice to Andy Bradshaw (46th over): "I live in Bulgaria, so you can tell Andy Bradshaw that there is no legal Sky here, although a few enterprising bar managers bring a set-top box over from the UK so he might get lucky."

55th over: England 187-4 (Strauss 92, Bell 19) Seven runs off Afridi, including the first boundary in what seems like a million years from Strauss. A lead of 270 now, but they'll need another 80-odd runs today, with 22 more overs scheduled.

56th over: England 194-4 (Strauss 98, Bell 20) Awful fielding from Pakistan, Afridi delays picking up Strauss's shot, which really only offers a single for him, and then his overthrow flies away to the boundary, and the batsman is very happy with five runs from that. One suspects that Inzy will be less so.

57th over: England 203-4 (Strauss 99, Bell 28) Andrew Strauss grabs a single to move on to 99 not out, and bless, Mrs Strauss is up there on the balcony, looking extremely nervous for hubby. Ian Bell weighs in with two successive fours, a lofted stroke and a drive through extra-cover, and that takes England past the 200 mark.

WICKET! 58th over: England 203-5 (Bell run out 28) Oops. Strauss plays Kaneria away to leg, Ian Bell wants to help his partner onto his century, but he's just not quick enough and his dive is in vain as the bails are destroyed by a fast-moving Inzy, of all people. Geraint Jones is the next man in, and as he skips to the crease he gives his captain a hug. The new batsman gets under way quickly, snatching a single.

59th over: England 206-5 (Strauss 100, Jones 2) Finally, the hundred's up for Strauss, as he flicks Afridi away for a single, and that makes him the third England captain to score a hundred on his debut as skipper after Gower, Lamb and McLain - apparently, though as Peter Leijsten points out, that's four England captains, and yes, that snippet came from our chums at Cricinfo. It can't be denied that he's played well, and he really needed a decent innings, just to add fuel to the Ashes batting line-up discussion.

60th over: England 207-5 (Strauss 101, Jones 2) One more for Strauss, and a sun-dozy Lord's crowd settle back into their seats.

62nd over: England 213-5 (Strauss 107, Jones 2) Renewed vigour after the sustenance, and Strauss begins by playing Kaneria's first two balls away for two each. Jones gets the strike after his captain plays for a single out to cover, and he sees out the over quietly.

63rd over: England 218-5 (Strauss 112, Jones 2) Imran Farhat comes on at the Nursery End, and Strauss welcomes him by playing an edge through the slips and out to the rope. The raucous element of the still-conscious Lord's crowd are singing that old favourite "Eng-er-land, Eng-er-land", a truly moving rendition of an ever-popular air.

64th over: England 218-5 (Strauss 112, Jones 2) A maiden over from Gul, and as England's lead remains at 301, here's another stat taken from Cricinfo, which I'm perusing at my leisure: Pakistan have only once chased down 300 and that was in 1994, against Australia in Karachi.

65th over: England 223-5 (Strauss 116, Jones 3) One for Jones, putting Strauss back on strike, and again he slices through the slips for four. David Gower is proving an unexceptional ticket tout, talking about the seats available at Lord's tomorrow with a singular lack of enthusiasm.

66th over: England 226-5 (Strauss 116, Jones 4) A single for Jones, and two leg-byes - Umar Gul won't be happy with that little display. Andy Bradshaw giggles: "Good old Blowers on TMS is getting Jones and Akmal mixed up. When I go senile I want to become a cricket commentator." Harsh, Mr Bradshaw, an easy mistake to make, surely?

67th over: England 227-5 (Strauss 116, Jones 5) Just the one for Jonesy, playing Kaneria away to point.

68th over: England 229-5 (Strauss 117, Jones 6) Another for Jones, this time cutting Gul away to point, then Strauss notches another one in the same area. The experts on Sky conclude that England will see out the day, play half-an-hour tomorrow, then declare. We'll see.

69th over: England 230-5 (Strauss 118, Jones 6) This session is winding down to a quiet and civilised conclusion as Strauss adds another one to his total.

70th over: England 236-5 (Strauss 123, Jones 7) Andrew Strauss turns Gul away to square for two, then gets three with the boundary prevented by some good Yousuf fielding, and he now has the highest score of a debuting England captain, passing Allan Lamb's knock of 119.

72nd over: England 240-5 (Strauss 124, Jones 10) A run each, and the soporific sound of willow on leather and the occasional scampered single is becoming quite soothing. Ian Botham attempts to spoil the relaxing Lord's atmosphere by trying to pick a fight with Mike Atherton about his supposed fortune, but Athers is having none of it.

74th over: England 250-5 (Strauss 128, Jones 16) A single and a brace for Strauss, then a misfield by Kaneria allows Jones a four, and he follows up with a single. That brings the 250 up for England, and that fifth 50 has come off 101 balls.

WICKET! 75th over: England 250-6 (Jones 16, c Akmal b Kaneria) Just what England didn't need - a soft wicket not long before the close of play, and Pakistan are into the tail. Even if England are planning to declare at the end of the day, that wicket (and any subsequent) may well give them the psychological edge, as opposed to the actual lazy edge which Jones put on the Kaneria delivery, straight into the grateful Akmal's gloves.

WICKET! England 253-7 (Strauss 128, c Farhat b Kaneria) An outside edge from Strauss into Farhat's hands at slip brings his fine innings to a close, and this is beginning to look a bit nervy from England. Fear not, though, because the mighty Matthew Hoggard is heading out to the crease to join Liam Plunkett, who's faced one ball - a googly - from Kaneria and it bounced away for three byes.

76th over: England 254-7 (Plunkett 1, Hoggard 0) Plunkett opens his scoring with one away to midwicket off Afridi, and that's it for the over as the Hog brings out his admirable range of defensive shots.

77th over: England 258-7 (Plunkett 5, Hoggard 0) That's the last over of the day, bowled by Kaneria, and Plunkett concludes it in style with a lovely cover drive. England lead by 341 with three sessions left, so the declaration should follow tomorrow morning. Thanks for all your e-mails today, sorry I couldn't use all of them. Have a great evening. Carrie.